Category Archives: Life

I’m a Newfoundlander born and bred and I’ll be one till I die. I’m proud to be an islander and here’s the reason why, I’m free as the wind and the waves that wash the sand, there’s no place that I’d rather be than here in Newfoundland… (The Islander, by Bruce Moss)

Yes, I’m a little homesick today. We are slowly taking out the Christmas decorations for our annual party and I came across this lighthouse I bought last year to remind me where I come from.

I do my best to just let go and embrace the place I live in as my home, but there are some days I just need to hang on to my home of childhood. Today’s that day ☺️

Friends ask me regularly “Rhonda, where do you find the time”? And “where do you get your energy”?
Mostly, it’s the thrill of the challenge to do it all; everything that pops into my mind. I love making others happy and see them smile. I’m not particularly funny, but I have my moments, so I get my smiles this way….

I’ve been a busy bee in the kitchen for my friend’s daughter’s 2nd birthday. The hive isn’t my idea, but I put my own embellishments on it!

And of course I can’t forget my friend’s son’s 4th birthday! Same friend! Her kiddies were born around the same date. This cake was my own creation. That said, I followed the mamma’s orders!

Life would be misery without cake!!! And I had gestational diabetes, so I know what I speak of!

I’m taking up the challenge to post every day in November. Enough is enough and I must give blogging some much needed TLC.

Commitment is one of my issues, which carries over into surrender, which carries over into letting go and all the other soul destroying issues our egos sling at us to hold us back, so we can maintain status quo and feel “good”.

Well this post is about my intimate dance with darkness or my ego, and about just letting go of all my “comfort-zone” inducing mechanisms.

I have my shoes…

Let’s dance…

Surrender. Easy to write, but hard to do. Sometimes I have to fight, but often that’s not accurate. I have to have courage to face what may come my way and surrender to the experience be it good or bad.

Courage: To face the abyss of uncertainty and jump anyway!!! There are dreams I want to fulfill, but to have those dreams smashed is less terrifying to me now than never even taking the first step towards them. That really terrifies me!

Well this year I’m jumping finally, and yes, I’m scared of failing. Yep! Plain and simple, but I’m just going to jump in anyway.

Art is my mediation and today I’m looking at the very first watercolor I created. It came to me naturally without the boundaries of formal instruction. That’s not to say that formal learning of techniques isn’t good, it’s essential for progress, but there’s something to be said for creative moments that spring unannounced from your being.

Paris ’98
I did carry on with being unschooled in this artistic medium, and sketched many scenes that caught my eye and spoke to my heart. I also remember vividly this year of being jobless in a foreign city. I was lost and art saved me or found me rather. I stared in the mirror each morning and whispered to myself “so really, who the hell are you without your higher education and your books?” Despondent, once I stopped burying myself in science assignments, projects, and exams, I came up empty. Chris (husband/best friend) was happy and working, and never lost himself. Le sigh.

That first year in Paris I turned myself upside down, inside out, insane, and exhausted searching for meaningful work. I wanted the job that would make me sing each morning. Nevermind that I had no work visa. I reasoned that if I got the job, I’d get the visa somehow. A year went by….no job, but my sketching and painting were taking root nicely.

These sketchers are part of my travel diary. There’s many, but I loved these places the most. They are only second to my precious island; Newfoundland.

Here is the most precious place in the world to me! It was my place when there was nowhere else I could go. It grounded me so that I could dream freely here.

Middle Cove, NL ’02

My partner Chris asked me to marry him here one cold July evening, five years before I painted this landscape, as we lay on the cliff -pictured in the middle distance here. Star gazing in the grass and wrapped together in love my best friend and lover thought he would like to stay forever with me. I agreed wholeheartedly. It was magical.
The journey to find myself and silence my ego had begun without much time to blink. Did I enjoy this task that was shoved in my face? No. Was it critical for my true self to emerge? Yes. Was it painful? Most definitely; lots of pain. Have I found myself? Partly. Am I finished with this intimate seduction that my dark side, my ego keeps thrusting on me? No, but I’m so close! So very close.

A space in my crazy life for enjoying silence. I like to call it the “Oscar Wilde” corner…you know…drink gin martinis and contemplate beauty. While in job limbo, I have had time to get domestic, clean up, decorate…my garden never looked better! I call it procrastination 😎

How does your garden grow?

I’m guessing if you work and have kids, not too well! Now with my extra time life flourishes all around me and, if truth be told, it’s making me creative! Translation: I start a print-making art course on Friday! Six weeks of intensive print making!! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but never had the time for, or money. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to finish my illustrations too. They’re constantly evolving and taking my writing in a different direction. I had no idea that writing a kids book would take soooooooooooo looooooooong! Actually the writing isn’t taking as long as the drawing. Illustrating is tough! Painting still life is easier by far!

Ok. You know what the irony is of creating a place to soak up silence? People (i.e. My family) are instantly drawn to it! Oh well, I think a place for cocktail hour might work better!

My cocktail creation (see….creativity!)

Newfie Fog martini:

2 shots of the best gin you can afford, a splash of Indian tonic, a dash or two of bitters, only a scant dash of sweet Italian Red vermouth “Rosso”, a twist (and a wee squeeze) of lime, and a wedge of watermelon on a toothpick to stir up the fog!

Early this fall we went to Dunsborough, Margaret River and I was inspired by the many lovely boats anchored in the bay. The warm breezes and the glow of the “end of summer” was amazing!

This was my first attempt at a mix of watercolor pigments, pencils and ink. I used white ink to help with highlights in the water. I felt very passionate about capturing the serenity and glow of life that surrounded me. In the end, I’m fairly pleased, but I learned most importantly!!

I love looking back at my paintings because they remind me of what a beautiful life I live. It’s not perfect by any means, but I’m thankful (at the end of the day) for all of it!

Still figuring it all out and riding the ups and downs of life. Trying to create pieces of “happy” as I go. If this is the year of “finding myself”, I can say with certainty that it’s definitely bringing me back to myself, if that’s even the same thing!?! lol Not exactly what I thought would happen, but if we don’t actually lose who we are, then it makes perfect sense that we go back to who we are. It must be my age!! Hahaha! Happy days!!

So this little cotton dress is blissful! Both to make and to look at, and the wee girl it’s for is just gorgeous! She had a 3rd birthday party yesterday; she ended up in her birthday suit! Hopefully this dress will inspire her to keep it on!!! Ha!!! It’s a pattern I got from Australian Knitting, and as usual I put my own embellishments on it!